Chapter 267 - 266: Whirlpool
Looking at Chen Afu’s inquisitive eyes, Chu Lingxuan did not answer right away, but continued. "When I was seven years old, my father came home and told me that I might be appointed as a companion to the six-year-old Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince was not of high birth, and neither he nor his mother, Shan Jieyu, were favored by the emperor. My mother was extremely worried, as the Ninth Prince was often bullied by the Eighth Prince, who was born of the queen’s womb. She was afraid I would get implicated. At that time, my father was an army general ranked third-grade in the Imperial Forestry Army, responsible for personally protecting the emperor. His position was not high, but he was trusted by the emperor. My mother wanted my father to ask the emperor if I could be assigned to another prince, but my father scolded her mercilessly. That was the harshest scolding my mother ever received. She cried..."
Chu Lingxuan glanced at Chen Afu and changed the subject. "In our family, my great-grandfather was a highly strategic military and literary advisor, second only to Mr. Yuan. He was once a commander of the highest rank, but he resigned early. He did not place much emphasis on my grandfather’s education, believing that he just needed to maintain our family’s honor and it was not necessary to always be in the emperor’s good graces. Over the next 20 years, the Chus plummeted from being one of the top noble families in the Capital City to being mid-ranking. However, my father had been personally taught by him, reaching the position of the leader of the Imperial Forestry Army, while my grandfather was still a minor military officer of the third rank. So, my grandfather passed on the title of Marquis Yong’an to my father. Just when my father’s career was on the rise and the Chus were about to turn over a new leaf, we suffered a catastrophic disaster..."
Princess Rong Zhao was the only child of Lady Ma, who had no sons. She was the emperor’s eldest daughter and was favored by him. She was ten years younger than Marquis Chu Chu Guangche, and at the age of ten, she had vowed to marry no one but the eldest son of the Chus. At a young age, she often tried to manage seeing Chu Guangche when he was on duty, much to his annoyance. When she was fifteen, the emperor ignored her cries and decreed that she was to marry Prince Xue. Years later, Prince Xue died of illness, and she moved to Lady Ma’s Zixia Palace with her daughter.
At that time, Chu Guangche was 31 years old, and he was the youngest Marquis and leader of the Imperial Forestry Army in the Dashun dynasty. Every time Marquis Chu entered the palace, he would be nervous, always guard against Rong Zhao popping up from somewhere to encounter him and express her affection.
One day, the Second Prince called him over, saying that the Eighth and Ninth Princes had fought in his palace, and my head was injured. At that time, the Second Prince was still recovering from an injury, so he occasionally let the Eighth Prince lead a few other princes to come and play in his palace.
Chu Guangche went. However, as he was led into a room by the palace maid, he saw someone dressed in Chu Lingxuan’s clothes crawling on the table. As he approached, that person started to lift her head; it was Princess Rong Zhao. Chu Guangche quickly turned and tried to leave, but was held back by Rong Zhao from behind. At that moment, the Second Prince came in with a group of people...
That day was Lady Ma’s birthday. Queen Wang, Consort Zhou, and several conubines were celebrating Lady Ma’s birthday in Zixia Palace. When they heard that Chu Captain and Rong Zhao were caught in a private meeting in the Second Prince’s palace, they all rushed over.
The matter eventually reached the emperor. Such a low-grade plot, not to mention that the emperor knew Chu Guangche was set up, everyone else could guess what was going on.
The Second Prince even cried in front of the emperor, admitting he had set it up. He said it was out of his affection for his sister, unable to withstand her tears and even threats of suicide that caused him to commit such a foolish act. He regretted it and asked the emperor for punishment, and so on.
But Rong Zhao was the emperor’s eldest daughter and the only daughter of Lady Ma. The instigator was also the son of Queen Wang. Just as the emperor was wondering how to handle the situation, more bad news came.